Delta awards N94.3b road projects in five years – Commissioner

Oriezi Esievo, the Delta State Commissioner for Special Duties (Special Infrastructure), on Wednesday in Asaba, the state capital, said the state government awarded N94.3 billion contracts for road projects between 2008 and date.
Esievo, who announced this during the presentation of her ministry’s mid-term report, said the contracts included the dualisation of the 149 kilometre Asaba-Ughelli Road awarded at N59.3 billion.
She assured Deltans that the project would be completed before the end of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration in 2015.
The commissioner said one of the projects, the 11.5 kilometre Sapale-Abigborodo-Aruwon Road, which was awarded at the cost of N7.2 billion, was 55 per cent completed.
She also disclosed that the state government awarded a N40 billion contract for the expansion of the Osubi Airport and had already paid N10 billion as mobilisation fee to the contractor.
On education, Esievo said the state government had also awarded a N10.4 billion contract for the renovation of 50 primary and secondary schools between 2011 and date.
“The 50 schools were covered in the first phase of the renovation while another contract will be awarded for the renovation of 66 schools under the second phase,” she said.
The commissioner said the contracts were being done through the Ministry of Education and State Universal Basic Education.
Esievo said that N4.4 billion contracts had also been awarded for the building of physical structures at four new polytechnics in Sapele, Bomadi, Aboh and Abigborodo.
“The contractors have been paid over N2 billion and work was progressing at the four sites,” the commissioner said.
She said the state government was also spending N4.6 billion on the health sector.
“This includes the re-modeling, rehabilitation and equipping of Eku Baptist Hospitals, on which N2.6 billion was being expended,” Esievo said.
The commissioner said also that 100-bed integrated mother and child care centres had been constructed at Central Hospital, Warri and General Hospital, Ekpan.
“The state government, in promoting socio-economic activities, awarded the construction of the Ogheye floating market in the riverine Warri North Local Government Area at the cost N3 billion,” she said.